EXCERPT: The Tuff Chix Guide to Easy Home Improvement

Jan. 17, 2007 — --

Let's Get Tuff!

Hello, ladies ... and gentlemen. This is a book every woman needs around the house: a guide to easy home improvement and repairs that can save you hundreds, even thousands, of dollars. This is your guide to a better home and a better you. You are strong, independent and Tuff!

There are two types of people out there: the DIY (do it yourself) type and the HAP (hire a professional) type. My goal is to turn you into the TC (Tuff Chix) type, one who fixes things or hires a professional because she wants to, not because she has to. This book will give you the knowledge you need to make that decision.

I'll give you the know-how and teach you the criteria to use to avoid getting ripped off. You will have the confidence to hire the right professional for each job and the knowledge to make informed inquiries before you hire.

Review the project, and assess the Tuff Meter and the estimated time to complete the project. Then look at the alternative: how much it would cost to hire a professional to do it?

In some instances, you will want to tackle the project yourself. In others, it may be worth it to hire someone else, but if you do, at least you will know how much money you should be charged, how long it should take to complete the project, and how to get exactly what you paid (and asked) for.

Some subjects in this book will seem advanced, and some very elementary. The advanced projects (and some tools) will generally be something of a stretch and may not be in your comfort zone; however, I want you to be familiar with them. This book is about knowledge, and the more knowledge you have, the more power you have. I want you to be able to walk into any hardware store or onto any job site (which includes your own garage) and know what you are talking about.

Hi, everyone! If you choose to skip this section, I won't be offended, but I urge you to finish reading this paragraph. All you need to know is don't be afraid. You are tougher than you think, and you can successfully tackle every project in this book. You don't have to wait for someone else to do it, and you don't have to pay someone else to do it. You can do it yourself!

Don't be afraid to break a "nail." There was a time when I was intimidated and overwhelmed by things that needed fixing, yet didn't want to rely on someone else to fix them for me. Home improvement is not difficult; you just need know what to do. And even if you screw up, you can always fix your mistakes. My biggest hurdle was worrying too much. What if I did it wrong? What if I messed up? Well, guess what? You can mess up. I did! And you will too. I've learned so much by messing up, but the biggest thing I learned is that a mistake can always be fixed.

I remember learning how to put up drywall. It was in 1999, and I was dating a former construction worker (let's face it ladies, a buff man in a tool belt ... yum). I was renting a two-bedroom house with two other girls. The home had a large dining room that we thought would be perfect as a third bedroom. I moved my belongings into the room and put up a folding screen, but soon realized I needed more privacy. We asked the owner if we could add double French doors to enclose it. She said yes, with one condition: that prehung French doors would fit in the opening exactly. We measured the opening and discovered that it was fourteen inches short of a perfect fit. What to do? I needed the privacy and this place was all we could afford, so moving was not an option. We had to make the doors fit. My crafty man had an idea: why not extend the wall by fourteen inches? I remember thinking that this was impossible, and that we'd never be able to do it ourselves. I was ready to throw in the towel, but with his reassurance, we went to the hardware store, purchased the materials, and got to work. Since I was positive this project could not be done, I wanted to be there every step of the way to witness the demise of his clever plan. We bought two-by-fours, drywall, screws, nails, drywall mud, and various other items that were so foreign to me at the time, they may as well have been creatures from another planet. At one point in the project, he handed me a shiny tool that looked something like a spatula with white toothpaste-type goop on it. My first inclination was to run the other way screaming, but instead he showed me how to apply the goop to the wall and how to smooth it out. I was shocked -- it was so easy! I was drywalling! Yes, it took some finesse to get it smooth, but overall, it was simple. And the more times I tried, the better I became. Even when I messed up and left a big bump on the wall, it was easy to sand it down and start over. And talk about feeling empowered -- I felt like I could do anything. I found myself spending every spare moment asking if I could help with his other projects. Soon I had learned the basics of drywalling, roofing, tiling, and framing. With those limited skills under my tool belt, I felt like I could take on the world. Overdramatic? Maybe. But it felt good to know that I could make my own home improvements if I wanted to and no longer had to rely on someone else.

But that wasn't really the beginning. I'll have to take you back a few years to really show you how I became a Tuff Chick.

I have loved real estate since I was a little girl, although at the time, my real estate expertise was restricted to playing with dollhouses, building card houses, and touring model homes with my mom. When I was six, I had a life-size dollhouse in my bedroom. My mom tells the story of how I removed all the dolls from the dollhouse and began making furniture and redecorating. I also had a smaller scale dollhouse that I played with, and it too would receive regular makeovers. Anyway, at the time I was always more focused on the furniture and providing a comfortable environment for my cat than playing with any of the actual dolls.

Most people ask if I learned my craft from my father. Actually, my dad is a racecar driver, and although he can rebuild an engine with his eyes closed, I'm not sure he's ever picked up a hammer. And my mom? She is an excellent teacher, a whiz at investing, and simply an amazing person, but to her, fixing up the house meant keeping it spotless. My brother? Michael is one of my best friends, a professor, and a counselor who I would happily go to for personal advice, but definitely not for advice around the house.

I basically learned everything I know about home improvement on my own by picking up a little here and there over the years. To fill in the gaps (and there were many gaps), I bought how-to books. I bought book after book after book until I found sections that worked for me. Most of the books I found, however, were geared toward men who already knew about home improvement. They assumed that you had all the tools and knew all the terms to make it happen. Most of the books read like sleep-inducing manuals with no illustrations. I'm very visual, and I found it difficult to simply read directions -- I needed to see the directions in action. And I desperately needed a "homegirl" dictionary. These books would throw out names of tools as if I was supposed to know what the heck they were talking about -- and most of the time I had no idea. Even now, with years of experience, I still refer to some tools as "the sanding thingy" or "the fun-shape cutter outer" or "the corner edger." I feel it's perfectly fine if you don't know the official names -- as long as you get the job done. I have written this book for all of you women (and men) who feel like I did. This is the book I wished I'd had during all those years when I was learning: one filled with descriptions, illustrations, a "homegirl" dictionary, and all you need to make you sound like you know what you are talking about at your local home-improvement store.

Okay, back to the life story. I attended Catholic school for twelve years, and then the University of California at Santa Barbara, where I studied psychology, theology, sunbathing, and beach living -- all very important subjects. Throughout my school career, I loved learning, loved building businesses, and loved doing arts and crafts. (These will all come to be important later in the story.)

In 1994, my career took me out of the country. I worked in sales and marketing for four years, and after too many international flights and business dinners, I decided that was enough for me. I wanted to be successful and I wanted to have wealth. If traveling the world taught me anything, it was that most people either made their wealth (or held their wealth) in real estate. And since I wanted to own my own real estate, and still loved visiting model homes, I knew that real estate was the business for me. I decided that I'd better start making more money and saving it so that I could buy my first property and jump in the game.

In 2001, I became an apartment manager. My main motivation? Living for free. It did, however, serve another purpose: I could save money to buy my first property and learn about the real-estate business at the same time. I simultaneously started a wedding-coordinating business, and I worked from home while managing the apartments. It was an ideal situation. My goal was to save $25,000 my first year, buy a property, fix it up, and rent or sell it. In February 2002, a friend handed me a book that changed my life. It was called Real Estate Riches. When I say it changed my life, I mean it! I was so inspired by the teachings of Dolf de Roos and Robert Kiyosaki. I looked up to these great men and was inspired by the path they took throughout their lives, and how real estate shaped their futures. That book so motivated me that within four months I raised $250,000 from private investors to start my real-estate business. I purchased fourteen homes in three months. I soon realized, however, that although I had raised enough money to buy the homes, I had no money to hire someone to refurbish them. So, guess who did the work? Me -- and whoever I could enlist to help me. I relied on all the books I had bought, to do everything from fix holes in walls to electrical rewiring and installing appliances. Fortunately, much of the work (like painting), was easy. I loved it! Well, I didn't love the actual physical labor, but I did love the feeling of accomplishment I got at the end of a project from knowing I had done it all. I was very proud of the work I did. Plus, the business was doing quite well. It was a rent-to-own program that helped people purchase their first homes. Not only was I making a more than sufficient income, I was helping people at the same time, which felt even better than the money in my pocket.

In the summer of 2003, I participated in a cable television show called Monster House. My motivation? To win free tools so I could fix up more homes. I appeared on the Christmas episode and went on my merry way with about four grand in new tools. I thought I had hit the jackpot. After the episode aired, I received a call from another show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The casting agent, Andy, asked me to come down for an interview. Since the show had never aired, my question for him was, "Well, what do you win?" After a little chuckle, he explained that it didn't work like that.

I went to the interview and was promptly called back. Since I had never really worked in television before, I didn't really know what a callback meant, except that I had to drive back down to Hollywood. I was told that I needed to construct something in front of them. They instructed me to bring all the materials and tools I would need, and said that I would be given one half hour to build something that would "wow" them --